Taken By Storm

Taken By Storm is a book about the global warming controversy by Christopher Essex and Ross McKitrick.

The authors argue that politicians and others claim far more certainty than is justified by the science:

We believe there has been no conspiracy to dupe the public and the people in question have nothing but the best of intentions. It appears instead that a lot of well-meaning people got locked unwittingly into a game that requires them to speak as if they are absolutely certain about matters upon which certainty is inherently impossible. Many prominent players have staked their reputations on positions that cannot be supported by science or sound policy analysis. [1]

The authors argue that public policy discussions have abandoned science and resorted to ad hominem attacks:

Global warming ceased to be a subject of scientific debate years ago. Watch how critics jump straight to an examination of motives or credentials rather than the substance of an author’s argument whenever books like this one are published. The argument, it seems, is that what you say, whether it is true or not, matters less than the way you say it or who you are. Scrutinizing the messenger rather than the message may be an effective political ploy; but what we are engaged in is not, at its heart, a political question. Our society has already done substantial harm to itself by not grasping this crucial point. [2]